Andrew Knowles and Sons Collieries War Memorial

First World War Memorial of 1919 by Sir Charles Archibald Nicholson for Andrew Knowles and Sons Ltd.

MATERIALS: buff Derbyshire sandstone.

DESCRIPTION: prominently-sited in a memorial garden with stone walls, overlooking the site of some of the firm’s collieries.

The memorial faces south. It comprises a roughly-oval area, bound to the rear by a sandstone wall with inset slate plaques, and set with river cobbles with a central stone-flagged area on which stands a four-stepped base and an ornamental cross.

The cross is 8ft high. It has a square plinth with filled chamfers to an octagonal top, rising to the foot of the shaft. The plinth is incised with the inscription:

LEST WE FORGET

The shaft is octagonal and slightly tapering, with a fluted upper section with tapered collar and roll moulding. The Greek cross surmounting the shaft has octagonal arms with flared ends and short terminals.

The retaining wall is of regularly-coursed, quarry faced stone, with channelled hog’s back copings. It steps down from the left. At the left and right are short, straight wings. The central section is flanked by square ashlar pillars. Above narrow-coursed ashlar is a broad entablature course, with a flat coping over the whole. The entablature course is incised with the inscription:

THIS CROSS WAS ERECTED BY ANDREW KNOWLES AND SONS, LTD, TO THE MEMORY OF THE BRAVE MEN FROM THEIR COLLIERIES/ WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY. A.D. 1914 – 1918

Within the narrow-coursed ashlar are inset eight vertical slate plaques, each incised with 24 names, and below these a central, horizontal plaque with 20 names. The Fallen are listed alphabetically by surname without ranks, with the same applying to the additional last 24 names. The lettering is serifed and expressive.